-
Including ads in mobile apps poses privacy, security risks
Researchers have found that including ads in mobile applications (apps) poses privacy and security risks; in a recent study of 100,000 apps in the official Google Play market, researchers noticed that more than half contained so-called ad libraries, and that many of the apps included aggressive ad libraries that were enabled to download and run code from remote servers, which raises significant privacy and security concerns
-
-
Triple-threat computer protection reduces identity theft
Having a triple-threat combination of protective software on your computer greatly reduces your chances of identity theft; computer users who were running antivirus, anti-adware, and anti-spyware software were 50 percent less likely to have their credit card information stolen
-
-
The Red Cross, emergency response, and Twitter
Social media has become such an integral part of our lives that emergency responders are now turning to Twitter and Facebook to gain valuable information during natural disasters or crises
-
-
U.K. holds amateur cybersecurity challenge to spur interest in field
For the past several weeks amateur cybersecurity experts have been searchingfor malware, defending against cyberattacks, and raising firewalls as part of Britain’s Cyber Security Challenge
-
-
NATO commander target of persistent Facebook cyberattacks
The senior commander of NATO has been the target of repeated Facebook-based cyberattacks that are believed to have originated from China; Admiral James Stavridis is the subject of a campaign to gain information about him and his colleagues, friends, and family
-
-
Growing unease over illegal cell phone jammers
For less than $40 nearly anyone can purchase a cell phone jamming device to prevent those nearby from making calls, which has law enforcement agencies uneasy
-
-
Cambridge first year student wins U.K. Cybersecrity Challenge competition
Cyber Security Challenge U.K. announces a winner and unveils this year’s new Challenge program (open for registrations as of yesterday); the winner, Jonathan Millican, competed with thousands of registered candidates in 6-month competition
-
-
NYC cyberattack simulation to spur Senate cybersecurity legislation
Last Wednesday, in an attempt to bolster support for cybersecurity legislation, the White House staged a mock cyberattack on New York City’s power supply for the Senate
-
-
NASA official says hackers gained “full functional control”
Last week NASA officials disclosed details about the alarming extent that hackers were able to penetrate the agency’s networks
-
-
Top LulzSec hackers arrested, leader turns them in
In the ongoing battle between law enforcement officials and hackers, authorities announced on Tuesday that they had arrested leading members of the hacktivist group known as LulzSec after their leader allegedly turned them in
-
-
MIT, DARPA developing self-healing cloud network
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Pentagon’s advanced research arm DARPA are working together to create a self-healing cloud computing network that can defend against cyberattacks
-
-
DARPA holds $40,000 competition to test social media in disasters
To better understand how emergency responders can leverage social media tools, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is holding the$40,000 CLIQR Quest Challenge
-
-
Anonymous retaliates, takes down Interpol site
In retaliation for the arrest of twenty-five suspected members of the hacktivist collective known as Anonymous, the group briefly took down Interpol’s website on Tuesday
-
-
Cryptographic attack shows importance of bug-free software
Researchers have developed an attack that can circumvent the security OpenSSL should provide; the attack worked on a very specific version of the OpenSSL software, and only when a specific set of options were used
-
-
HP wins $47M contract to support HSPD-12 implementation
On Monday the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced it had awarded Hewlett Packard a one-year contract worth as much as $47 million to support government-compliance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12)
-
The long view
Researchers Calculate Cyberattack Risk for All 50 States
Local governments are common victims of cyberattack, with economic damage often extending to the state and federal levels. Scholars aggregate threats to thousands of county governments to draw conclusions.